Assets such as wheeled or tracked amphibious vehicles or air cushioned vehicles are routinely launched and recovered from water vessels. These assets are also routinely transferred to and from sea-bases or docks to water vessels. Ramps are employed to facilitate the transfer of assets as outlined above. A simple ramp may be a plank of a desired material that is connected to a deck of the water vessel. The ramp is positioned to extend from its water vessel to another vessel, a dock, or the open water.
There is always a need to increase the capabilities and functionality of ramps. More particularly, there is always a need to increase the ease, simplicity and efficiency of using a ramp. Additionally there is always a need to improve multifunctional capabilities of ramps that allows them to operate in various different asset-transfer scenarios. With increased multifunctional capabilities there is also a need for increased stability which also improves the safety associated with the use of the ramp. Thus it is desired to have a ramp that operates with increased ease, simplicity, and efficiency that has multifunctional capabilities enabling ship-to-sea, ship-to-ship, or other cargo transfer scenarios.